If you are living in New York City, the Q train schedule is a must for you to know. There are, however, other things, such as the train route and its fares, that are important. With that said, we will start with basic information for those who don’t know anything about Q trains and why they are important for NYC.

NYC Transportation Problem: Increasing Population

New York city is overcrowded with people getting from one place to another during rush hour. It can have you stuck on the road for hours. Not only has it become quite normal but also is getting worse by the day. This is primarily because of the increasing population. As the population in the city and migrations to NYC increase, the number of vehicles on the road also sees an increase, which adds to the already burgeoning traffic. Therefore, people who travel frequently are compelled to use subway trains to avoid delays in their daily routines. But without the right information about subway trains, it becomes even more difficult to travel in NYC. Let’s say you wish to travel via Q train, but you are simply lost if you don’t know the Q train schedule, routes, fares, and methods you can use to pay.

Brief History Of The Q Train

To combat traffic issues and lighten the pressure on the lacking road infrastructure, the government has provided underground rails referred to as the Subway. Over 5 million passengers travel in the subway to beat the traffic each day across 474 stations and 38 lines. Yes, 38 different lines allow passengers to get from one corner to the other. The most notorious subway line where it all started is known as “the Q”.

The Q started in 1848 and has been providing the same service since 1920, that’s more than 100 years of taking New Yorkers from the 96th street Manhattan to Coney Island on Stillwell avenue. The Q services, although started in 1848, have been providing rail services on different routes before settling at Manhattan and Coney Island. The service has 29 stops or stations where it stops during the daytime, however during late-night services it stops at more local stations taking that number to 34. Traveling in a subway can get confusing if you’re not used to the stops and the timings or if you’re a new or a foreign tourist trying to figure out how to travel between Manhattan and Coney Island. Let us guide you on the route offered by the Q, the stops it makes, and the Q train schedule.

It is now established that Q trains are a part of the lives of those who use subways in NYC. The most important question that needs addressing is regarding the Q train schedule.

Q Train Schedule

The Q train schedule is laid out by the New York City Subway. The Q operates on all weekdays for the entire year. If there are any inconveniences, the schedule gets updated online. Roughly, the Q train schedule hours are from 12:01 am to 11:41 am daily

Daily Q Train Schedule

The Q train schedule differs depending on what time it is during the day and how crowded it is. For example, during Rush hour the Q train schedule includes trains every 3 to 5 minutes. On the other hand, trains may be scheduled with 4 to 20 minutes gaps when it is not crowded. However, the night intervals are scheduled 20 minutes apart.

“Stops” The Q Train Makes

To make it easier to understand, the train always goes to and stops at all the stations except for the following – where the train stops only at late-night hours:

• 49th street 7 avenue
• 28th street
• 23rd street
• 8th street-NYC
• Prince street

There are detailed and complex plans available that show which stations the Q train goes to and when, and where it stops.

Q Train Schedule Live

The Metropolitan Transport Authority has an online map that streams on its official website. Passengers can track the live status of Q trains, daily and weekly Q train schedules, and alternative routes taken by the trains in case of any inconvenience.

Q Train Schedule Updates

Sometimes there are changes in the Q train schedule due to various reasons. Passengers can get real-time information online from different sites such as the movie app and the official website of MTA. Similar apps are available on both google play store and apple store. These apps not only describe the day-to-day schedule of the train but also provide a map for better guidance.

Q Train Schedule During The Pandemic

MTA has the following precautionary measures in place for subways:

1. Not wearing a mask will result in a $50 fine.
2. If you don’t have the mask you can get one for free from Q train stations.
3. Q trains make sure people are reminded to take precautions.
4. The trains are regularly cleaned and disinfected with antibacterials. Also, ultraviolet light is being used for this purpose.
5. The Q train schedule for the night has been changed to buy time to clean the trains: Q trains will not be available between 2 am and 4 am.
6. There is a comprehensive 13 point plan available on the MTA official website that includes changes in the Q train schedule.

The Q train schedule is important, but another crucial question a potential passenger might have is what would it cost me to take the Q train? And how can I pay for Q train tickets?

To answer this, let us try to understand how the Q train fare system works and what methods one can use to pay for one’s tickets.

Q Train Fares

Q train schedule is not the only important thing to know if you wish to travel via this train, Fares are equally important. Firstly, the base fare is $2.75. However, there are various methods by which passengers can pay for the train services, and every one of those methods charges differently.

Methods Of Fare Collection

Pay-Per-Ride MetroCard:

This method is quite basic. The passenger buys a MetroCard worth $1. The card can hold up to $80 at a time. Every time the passenger wants to buy Q train services, they just swipe the card and $2.75 gets deducted. Also, MetroCard can be refilled.

Unlimited Ride MetroCard:

As the name suggests, this card offers as many rides as the passengers would like. They just need to pay a set amount. That is either $33 per week or $127 a month. However, passengers must wait for 18 minutes between the two consecutive swipes of this card.

Unlimited MetroCard is beneficial for two kinds of people: those who take the Q train more than twice a day and those who have low incomes since it includes the “Fair Fares” program.

Single-Ride Card:

This is a special card available for a one-time ride. It would cost the passenger $3

Transfers:

Passengers paying on a per-ride basis can transfer for free after two hours of initial swipe.

Q Train Fares During The Pandemic:

If your MetroCard expired while in lockdown, don’t worry!

You can now transfer funds from your expired MetroCard to a new one. For that, you will have two years to do so and the offer is only available for pay-per-ride MetroCard.

Q Train Route

As we’ve mentioned before, the Q train route starts from Manhattan to Brooklyn, Coney Island. However, there are a lot of stops the Q train makes along the way. Let’s look at some of the steps it takes and the connections you could take from those stops.

96 Street 2 Av

You will find this station near the border of East Harlem. It became operational in 2017 and has only two tracks. This is a full-time station with wheel-chair accessibility provided to travelers. You can transit to this station if you’re in search of bus or ferry facilities. The station has three entrances and three exits for those who wish to enter or leave.

86 Street 2 Av

Located between 2nd Avenue and 86th street, the 86 street 2nd avenue station became operational in 2017. This is also wheel-chair accessible and a full-time operational station. Those looking to get the M15, M15 SBS, M86 SBS buses can get off at this stop. The station is centrally air-conditioned and is completely waterproof. The project was proposed in 1919, however, due to the economic crisis of the time (The Great Depression), the project was delayed.

72 Street 2 Av

Operational since 2017, the 72 street 2nd avenue is a full-time, wheelchair-accessible station. Those looking to get on the M15, M15 SBS, M66, and M72 buses can get off at this station. The station can be found between 2nd avenue and 72nd street. It is also a great place for artists and art enthusiasts. The place will mesmerize you as it is covered with the artwork of Vik Muniz, an artist who won the MTA arts & design competition in 2014.

Lexington Avenue 63rd Street

Opened in 1989, the Lexington avenue station was rebuilt in 2011 and 2017 to cater to the growing traffic and modern facilities.

There are currently two platforms on this station, one catering to those carriages traveling downtown while the other one sees the train move to Queens which is also referred to as uptown. The station is so far in the ground that there are several escalators that one needs to take before reaching the platforms.

57 Street 7 Av

57th streetSeventh Avenue station was opened on July 10 1919 on the BMT Broadway Line of the New York City Subway. The station has four tracks located in midtown manhattan at the intersection on 57th street and is served by four trains, N trains, Q trains, R trains, and W trains. The N and Q train schedules are the same and are available at all times, the R train is also available at all times except late nights, whereas the W trains are available only on weekends. The whole BMT system is chained from zero points.

49 Street 7 Av

49th street is a local underground station. The project was started on July 10, 1919, on the BMT Broadway Line of the New York City Subway. The station has two platforms but has four tracks going through these platforms. You can find the station perfectly nestled between 49th street and 7th avenue. The station is served with the N train, which is available at all times, the R train, available at all times except late nights, the W train available only on weekdays, and the Q train are scheduled for late nights only.

The 47th street exit is on the southbound platform with the red brick appearance led by a passageway and broadway. Also, there’s only one staircase available to the southbound side.

Time Square 42 Street

Times Square–42nd Street Bus Terminal was opened on October 27, 1904. It is located at the intersection of 42nd Street, Seventh and Eighth Avenues, and Broadway in midtown Manhattan, under the time square and the port authority bus terminals. It is also one of the original 28 stations of the New York City Subway. The Q train schedule of the complex shows that the Q train here is available at all times.

34 Street Herald Square

34 street herald square is located in midtown Manhattan where the avenue of America, Broadway, and 34th street intersect each other. The station is served by the Q trains which are available at all times.

There are three staircases and two elevators which lead to each of the two Broadway line platforms. Two out of three pairs of escalators lead to the northbound and one to the sound bound of Sixth Avenue. In addition to this, There is a non-ADA-compliant ramp leading to an intermediate level which further is divided into two sets of staircases leading to each of the Sixth Avenue platforms.

28 Street

28th street station started operating on January 5, 1918, on the BMT Broadway Line of the New York City subway. It is located on 28th street and Broadway in Manhattan.

The Q train schedule of this station is differently scheduled, available late at night only.

23 Street

23rd street local station is located at the intersection of 23rd street and sixth avenue in Manhattan at the sixth avenue line of the new york city subway.

The station was opened on December 15, 1940, replacing the 23rd station on the elevated IRT Sixth Avenue Line. It is served by the F train at all times, the M train during weekdays, and by the <F> train during rush hours in the peak direction.

14 Street Union Square

14th street–Union Square, shared by the BMT Broadway Line, the IRT Lexington, and the BMT Canarsie Line is a New York City Subway station, located at the intersection of Fourth Avenue and 14th in Manhattan.

The station is served by the Q trains which are available at all times. The construction of the 14th street station began on September 12, 1900, as part of the WIRT’s original line and was opened on October 27, 1904, as a major transportation hub.

8 Street NYU

Eighth street–New York University was opened on 4th September 1917. It is located at the Eighth Street and broadway intersection in Greenwich Village, Manhattan. The station has two side platforms and four tracks and the Q train schedule during late nights only. The station platforms were extended in the 1960s for 10 car trains. Meanwhile, its structure and overall appearance were also fixed, replacing the old architecture with a modern one.

Price Street

Opened on September 4, 1917, the Prince Street station is located in Manhattan, from canal street to 14th street. The station has four tracks and two platforms with Q trains serving during late nights.

The Q train schedule of late-night allows Q trains to cross Manhattan Bridge through a punch box located at the south end of the southbound platform.

Canal Street

Served by the Q trains at all times, Canal street is a New York City Subway station complex, located in Manhattan. The station consists of four stations which are joined by underground passageways.

Three out of four stations are perpendicularly located to Canal street cross at Broadway, center street, and Lafayette street.

DeKalb Av

DeKalb Avenue Station. Opened on June 22, 1915, is located at the intersection of Flatbush Avenues and DeKalb in downtown avenues. It was completed on August 1, 1920, as the major transfer point between BMT services with split North and south lines of the station. The Q train schedule allows its trains to provide service here at all times. The station consists of two entrances and exits giving each access to either east or west side of Flatbush. One exit which is near the south end has one elevator and two staircases to access the waiting area above the platforms, while the other entrance/exit at the extreme north of the station consists of an escalator and long staircase that goes up to the mezzanine above the tracks.

Atlantic Ave

This is a complex station shared by three Lines: the BMT Fourth Avenue Line, Brington Line, and the IRT Line.

The station is included in the train schedule as a mandatory stop.

This station is the busiest in Brooklyn. It has been included in the list of Historic Places since 2004. The station was first built in 1908 and was renovated in 1909 to accommodate more cars.

It has three levels:

1. The IRT Eastern Parkway Line Platforms
2. BMT Fourth Avenue Line Platforms
3. Brighton Line platforms

7 Av

It is at the intersection of seventh avenue and 53rd street. If you are traveling through this station you will hear it being Seventh Avenue–53rd street.

The northern part of the station started working in 1933 and was an interchange point while the south side opened in 1940.

It has two levels with four tracks in total and the trains travel in the opposite direction on both levels.

Prospect Pk

It is an express station and is included in the Q train schedule as a mandatory stop. It started working in 1878. It has four tracks and two entry and exit points. Brighton Clay Re-Leaf by Susan Tunick is the artwork at this station.

Parkside Av

This is one of the mandatory stops in the train schedule. Parkside avenue is a local station on Brighton Line. It was built in the 1890s, went through mergers, and was reopened in 1907. In 1919 it was converted from a two-track station to a four-track station.

Church Av

Church avenue was built during the 1920s and renovated in 1997 and 1999. It is located at the intersection of Church and Nostrand Avenues. The station is underground and has two tracks.

Beverly Road

Located on the IRT avenue Nostrand Avenue Line, Beverly Road is on the Q train schedule as a mandatory stop. The station was opened in 1920 along with the Nostrand Avenue Line.

To accommodate more cars the station was renovated in the 1950s. This is an underground station with two tracks.

Cortelyou Road

It is a local station on Brighton Line and listed as a mandatory stop on the Q train schedule. Named after Jacques Cortelyou, the station has four tracks. It was built in 1900 with only two tracks but was renovated later on.

The construction of this station shows some striking similarities to Beverly Road Station.

Newkirk Plaza

It is an express station listed as a mandatory stop on the Q train schedule. It was named South Midwood in 1900 when it first started. However, now the station is located in the area North of Midwood. The station was renovated in 1903 under the “Brighton Beach Improvement” program.

The Newkirk plaza station went through improvements in the early 1900s whereby the plan was to eliminate the grade crossings on the Q train line.

It has four tracks and one entry and exit point. The station was renovated once again in 1983, to modernize its infrastructure.

Avenue H

Avenue H, a local station on the Brighton Line, is included in the Q train schedule as a mandatory stop. It was opened in 1900 and serves as a four-track station, two of them are express tracks.

Due to the elevation change, the north end of this station is slightly above ground level and as a result, road traffic on Avenue H dead-ends on both sides of the line. Don’t worry if you have to go from one sidewalk to the other as the station has a tunnel that bridges the two and can be found just below the Q train line.

It has two entrances, both on the north side of the station. The main entrance is the Northbound Station House.

Avenue J

Opened in 1900, Avenue J is a local station on Line. It is listed in the Q train schedule as a mandatory time stop. Avenue J was previously called Manhattan Terrace and was a two-track station. It was renovated during 2009-to 2011. Now the station has four tracks and two entrance points. The one on the south side serves as the main entrance.

Avenue M

Formerly known as South Greenfield, Avenue M is a full-time station on the Q train schedule. It is in Midwood, Brooklyn.

The station was opened in 1878. This station never stopped working even though the authorities in charge such as the New York Transit Authority faced a series of bankruptcies and mergers. However, the renovated station only started working in 1907.

In 2009 the station was renovated once again in a bid to install state-of-the-art infrastructure. It has four tracks. Here apparent is the artwork on this station. The station has a North and a south entry-exit point.

Kings Hwy

It is located at the King’s Highway and is a mandatory stop for the Q train. Kings Highway Station is an express station.

The station was renovated from 2009-to 2011. It is a four-track station. There are two points of entry and exit. The entrance on the southern side is the main entry and exit point while the one on Quentin Road serves as a part-time entrance. The main entrance has a token booth, MetroCard vending machines, and a turnstile bank.

Avenue U

Avenue station was built in 1908 and underwent renovation from 2008 to 2010.

The Q train makes mandatory stops at this station. That means the trains stop here all the time.

It contains four tracks. Brooklyn Wildfires by Jason Middlebrook and Miotto Mosaic is the amazing artwork on this station. The station has two entry and exit points: one directly under the tracks on the Northside and the other one on the Southern side. The former serves as the main entrance.

Neck Road

Neck Road is served by the Q train all the time and can be found on the BMT Brighton Line. It is located at Gravesend Neck road and was formerly known as Gravesend Neck road.

The station started in 1907 and was renovated in 2008-to 2010. The Neck Road station has four tracks. There are ruins of an old station to the east of the Neck Road station.

The station has two entry and exit points.

Sheepshead Bay

Located on an embankment, this is a four-track station.

It is served by the Q train all the time. It was built in 1931 as an express station. Originally it was a terminal stop in 1917.

Renovations took place in 1998 and then again in 2008 to include a pedestrian bridge. However, the bridge was removed in 2010. The artwork on the third station is the Postcards from Sheepshead bay. This artwork is worth mentioning because it is very detailed.

It has a full-time and a part-time entrance.

Brighton Beach

Opened in 1878, Brighton beach is both an express and a terminal station. The station is a full-time Q train station.

The station was renovated to accommodate long cars during 1964 and 1965. The west of this station was closed due to a renovation program of other stations in 2002. It has deteriorated due to saltwater corrosion.

The station has a full-time Q train schedule, which stops here and continues further south. This station has two exits and two entrances. The northern entrance is open 24/7. It has a fare control and a token booth.

Renovation of the station was done in the 1990s. The station has Eastern and western exits. The former is the main and the only exit since the latter one is unstaffed. The station can be entered using one of the four sets of stairs constructed between the street and the platform.

Ocean Pkwy

Located in Brighton Beach, Ocean Pkwy was an express station on the NYC subway until 1954. It is served by the Q train all the time. It started in 1917 and was initially a single-track station. However, with the opening of other adjacent stations, it got converted into a two-level Station.

In 2002 the station was closed for renovation and resumed service again in 2004. Today, the station contains four tracks. It is in the vicinity of Brington Line station and Coney Island beaches. The artwork in this station is called Coney Island reliefs, which was installed here in 1996.

The station has two entrances and two exits. The Eastern exit provides full-time entry and exit.

W 8 Street NY Aquarium

It is served by Q trains all the time. This is the southernmost terminal in the entire New York City Subway system.

It has two levels: an upper level and a lower one, both of which include a train schedule among others. The station has an Eastern and a western entrance.

Coney Island Stillwell Av

Opened in 1919, Coney Island Stillwell avenue is located in Brooklyn. The terminal was renovated several times and finally in 2004. This station has the largest subway terminals in the world with trains entering from the North as well as from the South.

The railroad south terminus is for the Q train along with others. It has three different entrance and exit areas:

First, the main entrance on the Southside is called Surf Avenue; second, on Mermaid Avenue; and third, is called High Entry-Exit that allows entry during late night. The station is equipped with state-of-the-art solar panels. They provide 15% of the station’s power.